Facebook adds video calls to iOS and Android Messenger app

Facebook has added another string to the bow of its Messenger app on iOS and Android, with video calls being introduced.

The new feature means you can have face-to-face conversations with your friends, and these can be fired up with just a single tap – there’s now a video icon in the top right of the screen, which when pressed starts a video call direct from within a Messenger conversation thread.

Calls are free, of course, but if you’re on mobile data rather than your home Wi-Fi network, you’ll be using your data allowance. And naturally cross-platform calling is not a problem, so those on iPhones can video call Android users, and vice versa.

Video calling isn’t available in all territories yet, though, but it has launched in the UK and US, along with Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, and Uruguay.

More countries will get coverage rolled out in the coming months.

In a joint press statement, Facebook said that the video calling service is “fast, reliable and high quality”.

The social network also reminded us that over 600 million people now use Messenger, and it recently introduced the ability to send cash over the service, too (Snapcash style).